Organising meaningful contact
- Period: August 2019 – August 2023
- Status: afgerond
PhD research into how older people form contacts through volunteering, when these contacts are perceived as “meaningful”, and what role volunteer organisations play in establishing and maintaining these contacts.
Description
In the programme “Growing Older Together”, the Association NOV, together with ten national volunteer organisations, is investigating the added (intrinsic) value of volunteering in care and welfare and what volunteers can contribute to meaningful ageing. The aim of the programme is to better align the activities of volunteer organisations with the increasing demand for voluntary help and support. In addition, volunteer organisations want to position themselves better in relation to paid care and assistance, residents’ initiatives and local authorities.
A central idea is that the “intrinsic” value of volunteering is mainly expressed in the organisation of encounters: one-to-one contacts between older people themselves, between older people and local residents, and between volunteers and older people. This project investigates how contacts between older people take shape within volunteer practices, when these contacts are experienced as “meaningful” (by the older people themselves, by volunteers or by local residents), and what role volunteer organisations play in establishing and maintaining these contacts.
The research will provide knowledge about how volunteer organisations can organise “meaningful contact” for and with older people. Expectations and ideas about the value of organised contact in practice and policy will also be investigated and, where necessary, nuanced.
Researchers
- Laurine Blonk MA (promovendus)
- prof. dr. Anja Machielse (promotor)
- dr. Femmianne Bredewold (copromotor)
Partners
Association NOV
(Co-)funding
Association NOV